Collar stay



I- B. SPEVAK COLLAR STAY April 3, 1956 Filed June '7, 1954 INVENTOR. I/FV/IVG B. SPEVA/f United States Patent COLLAR STAY Irving B. Spevak, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., assignor of onehalf to Albert W. Meurer, Pougllkeepsie, N Y.

Application June 7, 1954, Serial No. 434,871 3 Claims. (Cl. 2.-132

This invention relates to an improved collar stay, and more particularly to individual stays for each wing of a shirt collar whereby a collar will maintain its neat appearance whether it is worn buttoned or opened.

Straight collar wings are considered a sartorial necessity by gentlemen whether they be dressed for business or sports, and accordingly collar stays have become an integral accessory for gentlemens dress.

Unfortunately, collar stays in their usual form include a bar member extending across the collar button to join a pair of collar stays, a structure that cant be worn with an open collar. In another form, plastic stays are provided for collars having pockets sewn therein to receive the stays-a structure that has not proven satisfactory, since it prevents a collar being turned to hide a frayed neckband, and in addition the outline of such stays are usually visible through the collar, thereby detracting from its neat appearance.

Accordingly, there has long been a need in the art for an improved collar stay that could be used independently and interchangably with each wing of a collar, and it is an object of this invention to provide such an improved collar stay.

More specifically, an improved collar stay is required that is simple in construction, inexpensive in manufacture and which will not show lines when Worn with a collar either buttoned or opened, and it is a further object of this invention to provide such an improved collar stay.

It is still further object of this invention to provide an improved collar stay that will lie flat under a collar and which will not be subject to axial turning, whether it is worn with an open or buttoned collar.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide an improved collar stay which is simple in construction and readily attachable to the underside of a collar wing.

An incidental feature of my improved collar stay lies in the fact that it provides a new medium for advertising whereby mens shops can establish contact with their customers by giving away this improved inexpensive collar stay in such form that it provides a suitable space for advertising matter.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent and the invention will be more clearly understood from the following description referring to the accompanying drawing, and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

Briefly, this invention relates to an improved collar stay having axially opposite pin members, at least one of which is resiliently mounted for axial movement, and a base member grooved to house the resilient mounting means acting on said axially movable pin member.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of my improved collar stay;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, of my improved collar stay;

While Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a shirt collar 2,740,125 Patented Apr. 3, 1956 2 showing one of my improved collar stays mounted under one collar wing.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, my improved collar stay is shown comprising a flat elongated base member 1, axially opposed pin or prong members 2, 3 and a resilient device or member 4 for retractably supporting one of the pin members 3.

The base member 1 preferably is an elongated planar member being approximately /2 inch wide, 1 /2 inches long, and about inch thick. The collar-engaging surface 5 of the base member must be perfectly flat and smooth to lend a stiffening and smoothing effect to the collar, but the opposite side has an axial groove 11 to house the resilient member 4.

In a preferred embodiment, the base member 1 is made of one of the modern plastics, but obviously wood or metal would serve equally as well.

The resilient device 4 comprises an axially elongated hollow tubular portion 7 having an axially directed slot 8 in its peripheral surface. A coiled compression spring 9, preferably of square core, is loosely fitted about tube 7 and guided in its axial compression and expansion by the walls 10 of axial groove 11 formed in the base member 1.

To this end, tube 7 has a length greater than the longitudinal dimensions of groove 11 so that it can straddle the latter, whereupon the tube ends are cemented or otherwise secured substantially along the axis of the base member, and accordingly, the combination of the central tube and the outer guide provided by the walls 10 of the groove 11 control the lateral displacement of spring 9 during its expansion and contraction.

The retractable pin or prong 3 is mounted in a rod 12 having external dimensions adapting it for an internal sliding fit with tube 7. A protrusion 13 is connected laterally to rod 12 and extends through the slot 8 in tube 7 to engage one end of spring 9. With the opposite end of the spring suitably secured, as by the end wall 14 of groove 11, then the interaction of spring 9 and pin 13 urges rod 12 and necessarily prong 3 outwardly from the base member 1.

The prongs 2, 3 can be of any suitable contour, but in a preferred embodiment, it was found desirable to shape the prongs to have the pointed ends tilted outwardly in opposite axial directions from the axis of the base member 1 to facilitate engagement with the collar fabric.

To limit the extent of insertion of the pins into the fabric, stops 15, 16 in the form of a bar or a wire loop are mounted transversely of the prong points at a suitable distance from the outer ends. The stop 15 also provides a grip for retracting the prong 3, while stop 16 provides a mounting means for the prong 2 which is rigidly secured to the base member. Obviously, the prong and stop members could be formed integrally by making suitable bends in a wire in a well known manner.

The prong 2 is preferably imbedded in the base member so that only the point protrudes, and ideally both prong members are arranged to be co-planar after insertion into the collar fabric, thereby holding the flat side 5 of the base member smoothly against the underside of a collar. In this respect, it should be noted that the inherent resiliency of rod 12 will help press the stay against the collar; and because of the area of the base member, its outlines will not be visible through the collar fabric.

One of the distinct advantages of this improved yet simple, collar stay is that the smooth flat surface 5 provides an ideal surface for advertising material, and in view of its extremely low cost furnishes a suitable giveaway type advertising medium for mens stores.

Operation The installation of this improved tab is as simple as its construction. First, the prong 2 is inserted into the fabric of the underside of the collar almost immediately adjacent the fold line as shown in Fig. 3; then prong 3 is pushed toward the base member, thereby compressing spring 9. Prong 3 is then inserted into the shirt fabric substantially at the outer wing tip, thereby providing maximum bracing length and assuring a flat collar.

It is obvious that with my improved collar stay the collar may be worn open or buttoned, and the stay still performs its stiffening and smoothing function.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is desired to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but rather it is intended to cover all modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An improved collar stay comprising an elongated planar base member having one smooth side while defining an axially directed groove in its opposite side, a pair of prong members having their points inclined in axially opposite directions to the axis of said base mem ber, means fixedly mounting one of said prong members on the smooth side of said base member, and resilient means guided by the groove in said base member for retractably mounting the other of said prong members on the groove side of said base member.

2. An improved collar stay comprising an elongated planar base member having one smooth side while defining an axially directed groove in its opposite side, a pair of prong members having their points inclined in axially opposite directions to the axis of said base member, means fixedly mounting one of said prong members on the smooth side of said base member, resilient means guided by the groove in said base member for retractably mounting the other of said prong members on the groove side of said base member, said resilient rod comprising a tubular member defining an axially directed peripheral slot, a coiled spring mounted to surround said tubular member, means mounting the ends of said tubular member in axially straddling relation with i the groove in said base member thereby providing a guide for said spring, and means connecting said spring with said retractable prong for movement of the latter in response to expansion and contraction of said spring, said rod permitting said other prong member to be laterally deflected for coplanar insertion into a collar wing with said first prong member whereby said rod urges said planar member laterally into ironing engagement with said collar wing.

3. An improved collar stay comprising an elongated planar base member having one smooth side while defining an axially directed groove in its opposite side, a pair of prong members having their points inclined in axially opposite directions to the axis of said base member, means fixedly mounting one of said prong members on the smooth side of said base member, resilient means guided by the groove in said base member for retractably mounting the other of said prong members on the groove side of said base member, said resilient means comprising a tubular member defining an axially directed peripheral slot, a coiled spring mounted to surround said tubular member, means mounting the ends of said tubular member in axially straddling relation with the groove in said base member thereby providing a guide for said spring, means connecting said spring with said retractable prong for movement of the latter in response to expansion and contraction of said spring, said retractable prong mounting means comprising a rod mounted for telescopic engagement with said tubular member, means securing said retractable prong to one end of said rod, and transverse pin means connected to said rod to extend through said tubular member slot for engagement with said spring, said rod permitting said other prong member to be laterally deflected for coplanar insertion into a collar wing with said first prong member whereby said rod urges said planar member laterally into ironing engagement wtih said collar wing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,454,076 Marx et al Nov. 16, 1948 2,654,889 Doric Oct. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS a 415,644 Italy Oct. 28, 1946 

